Prasa Banned From Manual Authorisation Of Trains

The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) has banned the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) from manually authorising trains following the train crash in Germiston.

Close to 200 people were injured in a rear-end collision between two trains at the Geldenhuis station in Germiston on Tuesday.

The regulator said Prasa was therefore, prohibited from manually authorising trains until such a time that normal train services are restored or until such a time when Prasa can provide the Railway Safety Regulator with a comprehensive and convincing action plan for all affected areas in all the provinces where Metrorail trains operate.

Less than a week ago, 19 people died and many more were injured when another train collided with a truck in Kroonstad, Free State.

The RSR said: “however, on the morning of January 9, two Metrorail trains were involved in a rear-end collision at the Geldenhuys station. This accident convinced the RSR that Prasa Rail does not have the means to prevent accidents from happening during degraded mode when manual authorisations are undertaken.”

Failure to comply will result in Prasa being criminally charged and a penalty being imposed.